DITL Battles #1: Stitch V Mark

[Sionnach Glic]

Turn 6 - Conn Phase:

Mark's helmsman swerves the Cluster around in a sharp 180, bringing the forward weapons and shields to bear against the Kam'Ragh. Stitch's helmsman attempts to stay on the tail, but fails. However, he manages to position the ship so that the dorsal shields are between him and Mark.

Distance: 58,790 KM.

[Sionnach Glic]

Mark fires all guns at the D-13. The phasers slam into the dorsal shields, knocking them down to 47,250 TJ strenght. He also fires a pair of torpedoes from his now functioning forward tube, but both go wide, missing their target.

Stitch returns fire with his disruptors, hitting the forward shields of the Cluster and knocking them down to 10,000 TJ strength.

Damage Control:
USS Cluster: Repairs on the aft torpedo launcher are still underway.

Damage Report:
IKS Kam'ragh:
Shields: Total shield capacity down to 216,000 TJ (54,000 TJ per remaining section).

USS Cluster:
Shields: Total shield capacity down to 130,000 TJ (32,500 per remaining section).
Crits: Port impulse engine still down, aft torpedo launcher still down.

[Sionnach Glic]

Turn 7 - Conn Phase

Both ships make a repeat of their original maneouvers in the battle, with Stitch flying up above Mark's ship to target his unshielded dorsal section, and Mark flying down to target his unshielded ventral sections.

Distance: 38, 790KM

[Sionnach Glic]

Turn 7 - Tac Phase

Mark fires his remaining weapons at Stitch's undercarriage, hoping to do as much damage as possible to the Klingon ship. Surprisingly for an unaimed medium-spread salvo, they both hit the same location: Starboard Engineering. A full 160,000 TJ of explosive force hits the area, knocking it down to 176, 570 TJ integrity, and severing the power feeds to the engines (Kam'ragh reduced to maneouvering thrusters only 'till repaired). The phasers on the Cluster hit the Port Wing, knocking it down to 487,570 TJ integrity, but doing no further damage.

In response, Stitch fires his disruptors at Mark's Engineering Sections. The shot hits, knocking Central Engineering down to 76, 635 TJ integrity.....and destabilising the Warp Core due to a very lucky hit. Mark's repair teams rush to contain the reaction, but the God of Dice gives a hearty "fuck you!" to Mark, as the repair roll comes up with a whopping score of 2.

In one bright flash, the aft of Mark's ship disappears in an instant, shrapnel and nacelles flying everywhere. Somehow, the forward sections of the ship manage to hold together for now, leaving them alive at least.

Damage Control:
USS Cluster: Aft torpedo launcher repaired......and then blown up again.

Damage Report:
USS Kam'Ragh:
Damage: Starboard Engineering down to 176,570 TJ integrity. Port Wing down to 487, 570.
Crits: Both engines down until power feeds are repaired. May maneouver with thrusters only (speed reduced to 100KM and-2 to all Conn Rolls).

USS Cluster:
Damage: Central Engineering, Port Engineering, Starboard Engineering, Port Nacelle, Starboard Nacelle and Torpedo Pod destroyed. Forward Saucer, Port Saucer, Starboard Saucer and Central Saucer reduced to 50,000 TJ integrity.
Crits: Torp launchers permanently destroyed. Aft phaser banks permanently destroyed. Warp Core destroyed (down to reserve power, enough to keep going for 3 turns). Engines destroyed (speed reduced to 100KM and-2 to all Conn Rolls). Engineering Crew dead (-1 to all repair rolls). Chief Engineer killed (-1 to all repair rolls). Nacelles destroyed (no warping away). Internal comms damaged (-1 to all rolls until repaired). Main Computer damaged (-1 to all rolls until repaired). Tac Officer killed (-1 to all Tac rolls). Shield Generator destroyed.
Situation: Fucked.

[Sionnach Glic]

Endgame

On board the Cluster:

Mark staggered to his feet, stumbling over the body of his Tac officer, shredded by shrapnel. The bridge was in total darkness for a few moments until the reserve power batteries kicked into action, casting a dim light around the ruined command centre of the warship.

"Damage report!" Captain Mark yelled. The viewscreen to the front of the bridge, cracked and filled with static, flashed brightly for a few seconds before failing altogether.

"Uh... we just suffered a warp core breach." A young ensign spluttered nervously. "Um....internal comms are down. We don't know the extent of the damage."

"Well fix them!" Mark snapped, helping his XO back up off the ground as his helmsman hurried to extinguish a small fire that had flared up in one corner. Mark paced the bridge as he waited for comms to come back online, the only indication of the severity of their situation the sound crewmen yelling distantly to each other and the shriek of stressed and tearing metal.

"Got it!" The young ensign called. "Getting reports in from the rest of the ship now."

"Well?" The XO asked.

"It's.....oh, God....we've lost the entire aft of the ship. Engines, warp drive, the launchers, everything."

"A proper report if you will, Mr Patterson." Mark replied, trying to snap the man back into a proper mindset. It seemed to work somewhat.

"Yes sir. Er, shield generators are down. Main Engineering is not responding....uh, nothing aft of the shooting range on C Deck is responding. Internal sensors are down. Main computer is down. Backup bridge is not responding. Fires on decks E, F, D and B are blazing out of control. We're down to our reserve power batteries. Engines not responding. Targetting computer not responding. Primary-"

"Perhaps it'd be quicker if you just tell us what is working." Mark snapped.

"Uh...according to Lieutenant Mason the coffee machine on E deck is still operating."

"Crew casualties?" The XO asked.

"Can't say."

"Why not? Contact Sickbay. They should have a rough idea."

"I did, sir. I got no response."

"Sir?" The lieutenant in charge of Ops looked over to them, face grave. "Sickbay underwent explosive decompression a minute or so after the blast. I think the hull may have failed in that area." Mark looked at the Andorian in shock.

"You mean....?"

"Yes, sir. They're all dead."

"Dammit." Mark cursed.

"Taking into account the amount of personel that should have been in the areas we know to be destroyed...." The XO said, flicking quickly through some reports. "...I think we can estimate anwhere between 100 to 160 personel dead or wounded. Perhaps as high as 80% casualties among the crew."

"Report, what's that Klingon ship doing?" Mark asked after a moment of shocked silence. The XO hurried to the now vacant Tac station.

"It looks like they're holding position. The- no, wait, they're moving slowly towards us. Very slowly. I think we may have knocked out their engines. They're charging weapons!"

"Weapons?" Mark asked.

"Down to forward phasers. We've no hope of doing any real damage."

"What about theirs?"

"Their disruptors are still functioning."

"Damn." Mark muttered. He was quiet for a long moment, realising there was no other options left. "Commander, activate the secondary self-destruct mechanism."

"Sir?"

"Do it!" Mark ordered, more forcefully, as he strode over to the Ops station and activated the internal comms system. Clearing his throat, he bent down to speak into the reciever.

"All hands, this is your captain speaking. I am giving the order to abandon ship immediately. Make your way to the nearest escape pod and evacuate the ship immediately. That will be all."

* * *

Streams of escape pods and a handful of shuttles scattered away from the crippled hulk of the Cluster. After a few minutes, the ship began to break up as explosive charge placed at weak points along the inside of the hull detonated, exposing the interior of the ship and anyone who had not yet escaped to the void of space. Mark watched with grim satisfaction from an escape pod as one such detonation took out the bridge of his ship, denying the Klingons any useful information they may have been able to glean from the ship's databanks.

There was a sudden lurch that Mark instantly recognised as a tractor beam latching onto the pod. Looking out the small window at the aft section of the pod, he could see the blackened and burnt underbelly of the decapitated Bird of Prey as it began to reel escape pods in towards it, no doubt intending to interogate any prisoners for information. With a weary sigh of resignation, Captain Mark of the USS Cluster prepared himself for the ordeal to come, knowing that any hope of survival lay on the mercy of the Klingon victors.

------------------------------------

And with that, the first of the Reborn DITL Battles comes to a close. Although Stitch's BoP took a hell of a beating, Mark was unable to pull a victory out of the intense slugging match, leaving Stitch with a solid victory, and most of his ship still intact.

As the match is over, feel free to comment or post in this thread.

[Mark]

Did anyone remember to grab the coffee machine from Deck E before we left?

[Captain Seafort]

No, do you want to go back for it?

[Sionnach Glic]

The occupants of the Captain's escape pod were grim as the pod was slowly reeled in towards the looming shape of the Bird of Prey.

"Well, this sucks." The XO commented.

"Yeah, you're right." Lieutenant Mason said. Then his expression brightened as he patted the still-working coffee machine he had dragged with him from E Deck. "On the plus side, at least we've still got coffee."

[Mark]

Lieutenant Mason, for outstanding forethought and bravery in protecting the Captain's coffeepot, you are hereby given a field promotion to the rank of Lieutenant Commander, with all the rights and responsiblities thereof. Now, make some coffee before the torture begings, Commander.